| In
order to use external web links and database resources of this site, you must
become a member. Membership is free, please use the registration form on
the top menu. If you are already a member please
login below:
|
Feed Management:
Whether you are home milling and mixing More Info. or buying in commercial diets More Info. there are a number of issues that must be examined:
The quality of the finished diet can not be better than the quality of the ingredients used. Attention should be paid to the quality of feed stuffs delivered to the farm. More Info. The trailer should be
inspected if possible and the cleanliness of the load and vehicle assessed. Are the remains of the last load delivered mixed in with your delivery. Does the feed stuff smell fresh and is the colour
as you would expect? Take samples of every load and get some checked periodically, if you think that there is something wrong check it out. If you wait for the hogs to complain then you have lost a
lot of money on reduced performance. If possible organise each new delivery into a clean empty storage bin. The storage bins should be emptied, inspected and cleaned on a regular basis.
All augers, delivery systems, mixing and storage bins within the farm should be regularly emptied, cleaned and maintained. The single most expensive input in your production system is the feed so
therefore the maintenance of all equipment that transports feed around the farm, stores feed etc. is essential. Regular maintenance will reduce the level of breakdown and reduce the amount of times
that the hogs will be disappointed and left hungry.
The feeder or trough in the hog pen requires continuous inspection and immediate repair if required. There is no excuse for allowing feed to spill out of the system anywhere on the farm. Feed
wastage from the trough or feeder will crust on the slurry and give vermin and flies and ideal habitat.
The other important feed ingredient is water and often it is the one that is taken most for granted. If fresh water in sufficient quantity is not available to the animal then performance will
suffer dramatically. The importance of cleanliness of the system can not be over emphasised. More Info. Wastage and leakage should be remedied immediately as this will add an extra cost to slurry disposal.
Make sure that your system feeds the proper diet to the different ages of stock. More Info. Hog in the nursery do not thrive well on gestation sow diet. Label your intake bins so that the new deliveryman
knows where to offload and ensure that all internal bins are clearly labelled. Do not overlook the obvious.
Each farm should use a consistent amount of the different types of feed each week and it should be possible to standardise the ordering which is of benefit to the supplying mill, logistics and
farm. No farm should ever run out of specific diets but in practice it happens.
Top of Page
Nutritional Requirements:
The particular nutrient requirements of the growing hog will be left to the nutritionists. More Info. For them to do an accurate assessment of the requirements of the hogs on your farm they need specific
information:
What is the intake pattern on the farm? How much feed do your animals eat at the different liveweights? If you are not using a computerised feeding system the monitoring of intake for the different
weights of hogs can be labour intensive. More Info.
What is the growth pattern for the hogs in your system? This can yield very interesting results when monitored accurately. The identification of periods of slow growth can lead to corrections in
the system that will improve the overall performance. More Info. If these are not identified it is impossible to get the system of production fine tuned to its best advantage.
What is the lean meat deposition rate of the hogs in your system? This will be dependent on:
the genetic potential of the stock - enquire from the breeding company.
the disease status on the farm
the management and environmental conditions they encounter.
Examining the feed intake pattern, growth rate and the carcass quality of the stock produced can allow a "guestimate" of the situation.
Are males castrated or entire?
How many diets can your system cope with and what is the method of feeding the different areas? What weight ranges of hogs are to be fed the formulated diets? Can the system adapt to phase
feeding? More Info.
How flexible is the feeding system for the breeding herd and how many diets can be accommodated? A gestation diet, a lactation diet and a gilt rearing diet.
Top of Page
Phase feeding:
Phase feeding is the continuous alteration on a daily basis of the nutrients fed to your stock. As pig weight increases, intake increases and the dietary concentration of nutrients can be adjusted
to more accurately meet the hog's requirements. More Info.
The advantage of more closely meeting the hog's requirements is a reduction in the amount of surplus protein supplied and therefore the reduction in waste nitrogen. More Info.
Each day the least cost formulation best suited to supplying the required nutrients is fed. Cheapest possible feed cost.
Top of Page
Sow diets:
The nutrient requirement of the breeding female is dependent on the her position in the production cycle:
The young growing female requires a diet that will promote skeletal development, prevent excessive muscular development, allow back fat deposition and keep her growing at about 1lb per day. More Info.
The pregnant female requires a low protein intake for the majority of her confinement. It is only in the last 6 weeks that the developing litter puts nutritional demands on the sow. Increasing the
intake in the later stages of pregnancy will accommodate both sow and litter. More Info.
The suckling sow requires a large intake of a nutritious diet. She is a very efficient producer of milk from feed. If however her intake is not adequate she will use her own body reserves. Sows
milk has 20% dry matter and the modern sow is capable of producing in excess of 22lb of milk per day, as good as the milking cow. The sow requires a high protein, high energy diet to prevent excess
body weight loss in the suckling period. More Info.
Top of Page
Creep diets:
The young piglet is reared on a predominantly milk based diet while suckling, but at weaning, without notice from the sow, the milk supply is cut off. The animal has to adapt to solid food and
water very quickly to survive. The introduction of highly palatable milk based diets has enabled the weaning affect to be reduced. Because of the high milk content these diets spoil very quickly in
the hot nursery atmosphere therefore they should be fed little and often. The feeders should be cleaned each time fresh feed is introduced. The old creep from the feeder can be fed to heavier
stock.
These diets are very expensive but a small quantity per hog is all that is required and the subsequent performance can be greatly improved. The animal is capable of converting feed to growth at
FCE of 1 at this stage of their lives but to get this conversion they must be eating and growing. Changing the digestive system of the hog from milk to solids without creating a digestive upset and
without damaging the intestine will allow superior subsequent growth. Slight improvement in growth will more than compensate for the increased cost of the creep feed. More Info.
Top of Page
Separation:
In a quality controlled milling operation great care is taken to ensure proper mixing of ingredients, minerals and supplements. More Info. All this effort can be undone without proper handling of the ration
subsequently.
If a pneumatic blower is used to offload the feed into the storage bin the speed of delivery if set too high can cause separation.
Some liquid feed systems are capable of separating out the ingredients while mixing with liquid and pumping through the pipeline. I have experienced situations where hog were offered up to 60% ash
in the trough as their balanced feed. As you can imagine hogs do not grow well on sand. So beware, the final arbitrator of your system will be the hog and he is very particular about his food.
Top of Page
Useful links:
Research Articles on Nutrition:
Nutrition Index
Research Articles on Management:
Management Index
Research Articles on Health:
Health Index
Top of Page
General Research Articles:
Oklahoma State University Swine Nutrition Publications:
Oklahoma State University
Swine Management and Nutrition Online Forum:
University of Illinois
Iowa State research articles nutrition
Iowa State University
CuPLEX Copper Lysine Improves Nursery Pig Performance
Zinpro Corporation PDF
AvailaCu Copper Amino Acid Complex Improves Growth Rate and Feed Intake in Nursery Pigs
Zinpro Corporation PDF
Top of Page
|
